Zendaya Wins Her First Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in Euphoria

Zendaya has become the youngest ever Emmy recipient of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Euphoria.

The 24-year-old actress Zendaya scored her first Emmy Award tonight for her role as Rue in the hit HBO show Euphoria making her the youngest ever actor to win the award, beating out the likes of Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show), Olivia Colman (The Crown), Laura Linney (Ozark), and Killing Eve co-stars Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer. 

2020 Emmy awards was virtual this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Zendaya accepted the award remotely, thanking the TV Academy, her fellow nominees, her family, HBO, and of course, her cast and crew.

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She also thanked the show’s creator, Sam Levinson, saying, “I appreciate you so much, you’re my family. I’m so grateful that you trusted me with your story, and I hope I can continue to do you proud.”

While Zendaya herself does not identify as queer, her win for playing the openly queer Rue represents a win for LGBTQ+ representation.

Euphoria is a dark coming-of-age TV show, which tackles the challenging struggles lead character Rue (Zendaya) faces with drug addiction and high-school life.

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For its debut season, Euphoria earned 6 nominations and ended up taking three of those awards at the 2020 ceremony. Other wins included Outstanding Music and Lyrics, which went to the composer Labrinth, and Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic).